College of Emergency Physicians and Academy of Emergency Medicine Condemn Erickson & Massihi

The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) jointly and emphatically condemn the recent opinions released by Dr. Daniel Erickson and Dr. Artin Massihi. These reckless and untested musings do not speak for medical societies and are inconsistent with current science and epidemiology regarding COVID-19. As owners of local urgent care clinics, it appears these two individuals are releasing biased, non-peer reviewed data to advance their personal financial interests without regard for the public’s health. COVID-19 misinformation is widespread and dangerous. Members of ACEP and AAEM are first-hand witnesses to the human toll that COVID-19 is taking on our communities. ACEP and AAEM strongly advise against using any statements of Drs. Erickson and Massihi as a basis for policy and decision making.

For these groups to state something this emphatically is unheard of. The only reason they would take this step is the seriousness of the implications should the misconduct engaged in by Erickson and Massihi result in policy action.

These are the “legitimate scientists” (as one red-stater* referred to them, today) who posted an un-reviewed, un-published manuscript to MedXriv claiming that the death rate from COVID-19 is much lower than reported and we should open the economy immediately. Others have already deconstructed their mush ball of bad statistics and misleading pseudo-science, so I won’t do that here. Just rest assured, the claims are utter bull, with such wildly bad practices that they are being properly shunned by all legitimate researchers. We all want good news, but falsified results can have devastating consequences in the midst of a global pandemic. Allowing the results of such research misconduct to drive policy has the potential to kill millions.